Blood flow in the left anterior descending coronary artery in children with ventricular septal defect.

High-frequency echocardiography offers a noninvasive approach for imaging left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) blood flow from a transthoracic window. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of left ventricular (LV) volume overload on LAD flow in pediatric patients with ventricular septal defect (VSD). The study subjects consisted of 38 children with VSD and 15 healthy children. LV mass, LAD diameter, and LAD flow were measured by using transthoracic echocardiography, then LAD diameter and LV mass were indexed for body surface area. Pulmonary to systemic flow ratios (Qp/Qs) were obtained by cardiac catheterization. The Qp/Qs ratios ranged from 1.2 to 3.1 (mean 2.1 +/- 0.5). The mean LAD flow velocities, flow velocity integrals, and flow volumes were significantly higher in the patients than in the control subjects. LAD flow velocity and flow volume showed significant positive correlations with Qp/Qs, LV mass, and LV end-diastolic volume. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that Qp/Qs was the most important determinant of both LAD flow velocity (r(2) = 0.45, P < .0001) and LAD flow volume (r(2) = 0.44, P < .0001). The ratios of LAD flow volume to LV mass did not differ between the 2 groups. In 8 patients who underwent surgical treatment, LAD flow velocity, flow velocity integral, and flow volume decreased significantly after surgery. The current results suggest that patients with VSD have a higher resting coronary blood flow, and that LAD flow pattern is dependent on LV volume overload and changes after surgery.